Azerbaijan, Baku, 16 May / corr. Trend I. Khalilova/ The talks with Azerbaijani government on project of technical assistance to modernize the financial sector of Azerbaijan will end next week, which will enable to approve it in the meeting of the Board of Directors on 27-28 June, Gregory Yejeychak, the Head of the Baku Office of the World Bank said on 16 May.
The talks on the project began on 6 May, but the Ministry of Finance blocked them saying that the component on the National Bank of Azerbaijan must be excluded from the project. The talks were resumed, but there is no final decision as yet.
"The government is continuously coordinating its components, and the talks would be completed within next few days," Yejeychak said. Though the project do no cost much, it targets are key to the development of the financial sector," he said.
WB is ready to allot $11mln though the International Development Association (for 35 years, 0.75% interest rate) to implement the project.
The final cost of the project will be defined after the re-estimation of each component.
The project is intended to prevent systematic risks emerging from intensified development of Azerbaijan's financial sector through the improvement of control, improvement of access and transparency of key financial transactions.
The work within the framework of the project will maintain continuous development of the financial sector through reforms in five key fields:
- improve regulatory and oversight system at the market to increase access of companies to the local market;
- improve protection of financial service consumer rights;
- improve access and transparency of the fiscal data of the National Bank of Azerbaijan though internet;
- update the centralized credit registration at the credit office, provision of on-line registration system;
- providing bank and non-bank creditors with educational programs to work with agricultural manufacturers.
It will be WB's third and last preferential credit for the financial sector of Azerbaijan. The WB has allocated a $5.4mln for the Financial Sector Technical Assistance (FSTA) and $12mln for the Development of Financial Services.
The official exchange rate on16 May is 0,8274 AZN/USD.
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